Music

Why B.A.P. Has Me Skeptical

TS Entertainment has just announced that the full music video teaser for their latest and, evidently, greatest boy group ever, Best. Absolute. Perfect, or B.A.P. will be released tonight at midnight KST. Up until now, there has been a considerable amount of hype surrounding the rise of B.A.P., especially since they are amongst the first groups to debut this year and are rumored to the rivals of SM’s latest lovechild EXO-Planet.

Some of you might recognize or be familiar with some of the members of B.A.P. already. Leader and rapper Bang Yong Guk, also known as Bang, and Zelo were acting as a project duo not too long ago, and released a song and MV for their single Never Give Up. More recently, B.A.P. has also been featured on their own reality show on SBS-MTV called Tadah! It’s B.A.P. Today, the title of their debut song, Warrior, was revealed. But despite the considerable amount of hype surrounding the group, I can’t help but feel a little dubious.

I mean, who thought it was a good idea to dye all their hair platinum blonde? Sure, the blonde is an attention grabber, but not all six members need to be blinding and blurring my vision as I attempt to discern their faces. Also, what’s with the jackets? Are we copying 2NE1 by using Misfits jacket ripoffs?

Joking aside though, I really do have mixed feelings about this debut. From what I’ve been hearing, B.A.P. is going to be a group focused more so on hip-hop than bubble gum K-pop. B.A.P. promises to bring a lot of attitude and a lot of charisma and a lot of rapping, and frankly, that’s really exciting. K-pop has been rather boring and formulaic as of late, and a group composed of hard-hitting rappers maybe the spice the mainstream scene needs to say exciting. My only qualm arises from the name of this group: Best.Absolute.Perfect.

Nothing in K-pop is ‘the best’, nor is any of it ever ‘absolute’, and we all know too well that it is by no means ‘perfect’ — which is why it truly confuses me as to why TS has chose three very clear and succinct adjectives to describe a group that hasn’t even debuted yet. Isn’t that akin to setting them up for inevitable failure? Granted their fans are going to always think them as the best, absolute, and perfect, but won’t the rest of us more impartial music fans all eventually snicker at the name should the group fail to live up to the hype? It doesn’t matter if a group called Crispi Crunch or A. Pink or AA has their rainy days or even spells of bad music. None of us are going to criticize them because they are called what they are called. But what if a group called Best. Absolute. Perfect. put out low quality, boring music? Is that not the fallibility of K-pop and irony at their finest?

I don’t want to doubt B.A.P. just yet though. They have yet to appear on the music scene, and like any other rookie group, they still have the potential to make a fabulous impression on me. Looks can always be deceiving, so I’ll let the electric blonde hair pass for now, but as far the group name goes, I can’t help but think I’ll always be a extra scrutinizing when it comes to this bundles of boys. Now we play the waiting game. Do you all think the B.A.P. debut will convince us that these boys can live up to their name?

you know what’s worse than the blonde? SAME HAIRCUT!!!!! O-O how am i supposed to recognize them then? o_O they’re like super saiyan groups.

Landro

They don’t look the same to me just because of their blonde hair. What if they all had black hair? Or brown? Or the same haircut? ‘Cause they certainly do not have the same haircut. But oh well, I just don’t want to judge them yet^^’

Skye

There are a lot of reasons to be dubious about a new group, but the name? Seriously? Why? We all know most of the names are just words thrown in there together and most of them make little sense or are plain lame (MBLAQ, anyone?). What would you have thought if you’d been into kpop back when Dong Bang Shin Ki debuted, then?

Bstar5

Good point about DBSK.

Landro

And U-Kiss? The list over lame group names is awfully long..

Kenny72089

Definitely a pt for dbsk because a name like theirs was really really weird when they debuted.

I just hope BAP put out good and different music

Anonymous

i was just about to say this. If she had said she doesn’t want to get her expectation too high cause she has been disappointed before, then i would have been, ok, i totally understand but when she said, “My only qualm arises from the name of this group: Best.Absolute.Perfect.”

i was like is she for real?

http://twitter.com/Laava90 Lava

I’m looking forward to their debut, I loved what I saw from Bang Yong Guk and Zelo so far, I have to say I’m looking forward to the whole group a whole lot more than I’m looking forward to Exo. I like their style, and you can criticize them for wearing things like 2ne1, 2ne1 aren;t the only people who can pull it off, and if the whole group have as much swag as bang and zelo then I think it’s gonna be kind of awesome ^__^

Clair

i wish they would atleast give them different hairstyles, they all look like clones

Jay W

Ive seen bang n zelo perform live during their promo tour in Malaysia. zelo is awfully shy in person but when he’s performing on stage, u can tell he’s having fun n in his zone. bang is really a natural performer… he has a way with people, u can’t help but like him. so I will put my money on B.A.P. over EXO because they are more genuine.

Bookthiefj

Considering all the hype around Exo planet , and the fact that there s a rude fandom akin to all SM fandoms , stemming from the teasers alone … I would rather place my money on BAP . Granted , I still have no clue how to differentiate between the members because of the oh-so-genius uniformity in their hair colours and the fact that they have an equally ugly fandom growing in numbers rapidly is not exactly winning them points from me … Still there s something about this group that intrigues me …So fingers crossed !
And give me a hip hop group to a pop group any day ! Most of the hip hop groups write their own music , insert MIB, which is totally awesome . So even if its not a perfect debut , i hope its a good one from where they can start to grow musically and just pick up fans along the way , instead of delivering a seemingly perfect manufactured debut ! So B.A.P i ve got my eyes on you !

isti

I really liked Bang Yong Guk’s solo that he released before Never Give Up. When NGU came out I was like -_- why?

isti

I really liked Bang Yong Guk’s solo that he released before Never Give Up. When NGU came out I was like -_- why?

isti

I really liked Bang Yong Guk’s solo that he released before Never Give Up. When NGU came out I was like -_- why?

http://twitter.com/YunTiHa YunTi Ha

Personally I am quite excited for their debut. I already had great interest in Bang Yong Kook when he featured for Ji Eun’s solo, and I also really liked his solo I Remember. Never Give Up wasn’t as great as I had hoped for but watching their performance really shows that Bang Yong Kook and Zelo has great potential. I can’t say much about EXO because I have not bothered to watch their teasers (I have major issues with SM and its artists…sorry). But yeah my support definitely goes to B.A.P.

I see what the author is trying to say about the name…they are definitely a bit in over themselves with such a name. At least I had a good laugh when I found out what their name was going to be. But honestly in a while who will really bring up what exactly B.A.P stands for (except for die hard fans of course). People would just know them as B.A.P. and would probably care less what it stands for, as long as they are good or at least decent in what they do. I mean look at B2ST and MBLAQ, besides their loyal fans, will people really care about what their names originally stood for. I totally laughed when I knew what those two groups’ names stood for. But now I really don’t care what it stands for I just like them for their music and who they are. No one will hold their names against them saying they didn’t live up to their name. Plus seeing other Korean groups, most of them don’t even truly understands what their group names mean, they just think it sounds good and they use it (at least that’s how I see it). Kpop is filled with groups with the weirdest names and yet there are still LOTS of supporters out there. I wouldn’t look at their name too seriously…

I do have a great issue with their matching hair color. It really makes it a lot harder to decipher who is who. The only ones I can recognize is Bang Yong Kook and Zelo and that’s only because they “debuted” already. Personally I’m the type of person that looks at the hair to tell members apart when I’m trying to figure out which one is which and having the same hair color does not help me. Haha I’ll figure out who is who is some time.On a side note I saw their MV teaser and I am quite intrigued. I just hope the song lives up to the teaser.

Kandy_girl

you just took the words out of my mouth! 0_0 I’m really interested in BYG but Zelo though he has a lot of potential I think he should have debuted with a catchier song or simply debuted later.

as for the name. BAP does sound ridiculous. let’s just hope most people don’t get it’s meaning! (btw MBLAQ has a meaning?)

http://twitter.com/YunTiHa YunTi Ha

Haha I’m glad someone agrees with me.

Yeah MBLAQ is suppose to mean Music Boys Live in Absolute Quality…

Music=Love

Having them all be platinum blond is not cool, so hopefully their music will makeup for their hair.

Nicia

Frankly speaking talk is cheap. I’ve seen it so many times before with these companies declaring that their new rookies will “change the game forever” …blah blah blah. Then next thing you know they debut with the same old same old only with new faces and different voices. And no them dressing stylish and having a hip/hop concept do not constitute “change” for me. I want some original and fresh music dammit. If they can do that then and only then will I hop aboard the love train. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.

trulyyoursabby

LOL are you referring to 2NE1 with the dressing stylish and having a hip hop concept? Dude give them some credit, didn’t 2NE1 really changed the game considering Korea is dominated with cutesy, girly, sexy concept for GIRL GROUPS? Didn’t they brought the Fierce, Edgy, In-your-face attitude, Charisma in live stages and style? Look at what happened to the rookies of today even Boy Groups are influenced by them, (Block B and most noticeably B.A.P) I’ve seen B.A.P’s stage and i do believe they got some inspiration from 2NE1, people even call them male 2NE1. Don’t focus on the thought that 2NE1 only brought style because MUSIC still is the big factor to attract fans and style, etc just follows through. B.A.P coming up with a strong debut mv/song, choreo and style. They definitely made an impression, kudos to TS Entertainment from having various inspirations and put it all together and there you go B.A.P was born. Not that it’s a bad thing but truthfully IT WAS A GREAT THING. Deal with it, 2NE1 came.. they truly changed the game that even boy groups are rocking the in-your-face attitude and swag now. Give my girls some credit! Peace.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_B2NUFPAH3RDSR5MZHKPBOKMORE marla c

Ahm..i think BIG BANG did it first (just the whole swag i think)

Anonymous

I’m going to give them a chance to show their abilities first, we all know kpop has been known to have some unusual if not corny names but the artists, excuse me idols sometimes come out with really nice music. Its a new year so Let’s hope that they can be a group despite their name who can put out decent music. (oh by the way I’m new here…).

http://twitter.com/PhanTheHotness Jenny

i don’t know why ppl are complaining about the hair. the faces are totally different. they’re on TA DA IT’S BAP, so watch it and learn about their personality and you’ll learn their name. do you guys just look at the hair or something??

we’ll just have to see what BAP puts out when they debut. EXO, because they have SM behind them might be good too. but the thing with SM’s songs are that it’s not fresh anymore. it’s “manufactured” and there’s really no personality behind the songs. it’s whatever makes money. but we’ll see who’s gonna be on top. it’ll be a good battle.

it’s like b2st and mblaq back in 2010. it’s been awhile for 2 rival groups to go head to head. definitely will keep my eyes on these 2

http://weeatlemon.blogspot.com conanblue

I’m still pissed Bang Yong-guk isn’t going solo. That is all.

http://twitter.com/palomastainier Paloma Stainier

Funny how people are complaining about the same hair color (because nooo, they don’t have the same hairCUT), and how it makes it hard to recognise them individually; to me, it’s way easier, because you can only look at their facial features and body language to see who is who, I’ve always had trouble remembering the members because of the different hairstyles/colours, that change every comeback a group makes.

And about the name, what about Super Junior ? The Wonder Girls ? DBSK (as Skye said) ? All of these groups have in their name a word, or an image that implies superiority (Super, Wonder, Rising GODS of the East)… B.A.P may end up being the Best, Absolutely Perfect group in what they’re going to do: being a different kind of idol, doing a different kind of music.

[and personally, I don’t mind BYG not going solo, though I loved his solo songs; he wasn’t supposed to, just as much as Baby Soul isn’t supposed to be a solo artist, but ultimately part of the Woolim girls]

Sam

I would of liked if Bang Yong Guk soloed because he is amazing, but in Korea its easier to be in a boyband because its more popular. I personally didn’t really like Never Give Up because it sounded like a 20th century Gospel song (I don;t like Gospel songs Im religious, but I still don’t like them)
But nevertheless Im excited I really love Bang Yong Guk so I will support him whatever he does. if they want to debut with all blonde hair I don’t really care. B.A.P is a fine name (its supposed to be catchy) plus a lot of people think Kpop is the best,absolute,perfect (maybe its not just talking about kpop maybe theres a deeper meaning to it) Maybe they have a deeper meaning to their name. I don’t know, but a lot of more kpop bands have weirder names at least their name makes a little sense.
did you say something bad about Double (AA)? if you did Im gonna kick your ass if I ever meet you.

http://twitter.com/Laava90 Lava

I agree with a lot of the comments here, their name really isn’t worrying and isn’t going to hold them back, and they might sound full of themselves but really think about it: DBSK were not ‘Gods’ of anything when they debuted, Bigbang weren’t so big at debut, Super Junior didn’t automatically become super, MBLAQ weren’t ‘absolute quality’ when they first debuted, etc.
And on top of that, nobody really cares about what these names stand for unless you’re a die hard fan tbh.

Pancho

Apart from the 2NE1’s London punk jacket ripoffs, didn’t GP Basic do the “we’re all going blonde” thing during the Jelly Pop promotions? I mean, following a trend set by GP Basic… Let’s be honest: that’s sad!!! (I like GP Basic, though.)

And the “electro-bunny” costume from the teaser is such a ripoff of deadmau5…I’m still giving them a chance because, at the end of the day, the most important thing for me is the music. If ‘Warrior’ is actually good, I’ll forgive the lack of originality. Also, the teaser looks and sounds really good.

Anonymous

At risk of sounding like a total stan here, how the heck are you skeptical of a group because of its name? When you know that there are groups who have named themselves “The Rising Gods from the East”, “The Wonder Girls”, “Big Bang”, etc.. For BAP, with the previous work and their current teasers, if anything they seem to have been living up to their names.

And again with the blonde hair thing…if the entire group had black hair would you still complain?

http://twitter.com/spinkfish Jenny

Well, the abuse from kpop fans if BAP has a bad album as opposed to A Pink or AA would probably go along the lines of “not so BEST, ABSOLUTE, or PERFECT now are you???” and if that wasn’t their name they’d find some other way to dis on them without playing off it. They would get the same amount of flak if there name was something else, because it’s not like the flak would come just from the name itself. I assure you the complaints would not go “how could they let me down like this?? I thought for sure it was going to be the best, most perfect album ever”, it’s just that if someone was running out of ideas to be clever in their insults the name could facilitate some bad puns.

To be honest the all-blonde thing bothers me too, but not the idea behind it. I think the idea is to view all the members with clean slates and for their talents alone… see Jabbawockeez. But that doesn’t fly as well in kpop versus a dance group, because with Jabbawockeez you don’t need to know a single member’s face or personality to appreciate them as artists, whereas in kpop your success revolves almost solely around your face and personality. However, I respect the intention behind the idea, if I am interpreting it correctly. Unfortunately I am turned off by the execution of it as much as I am turned off by groups whose members all wear the exact same stage outfits. It just seems wrong to me to try to make the entire group uniform in any way, because that just highlights my biggest personal quibble with kpop—that a lot of it is so similar and manufactured. Letting individual members breathe and enjoy their own personalities and styles is what really draws fans to a group. That’s just a personal pet peeve, however.

Frankly, BAP has much going for them right now, including this incredible hype from fans, promise of something fresh and unique from their agency, a surprisingly awesome teaser, and competition against another intensely hyped boy band. I’ll hardly give their name a second glance if they prove talented and interesting, and I’ll hardly give it a second glance if they don’t. Should they flop on debut they’d be letting more than their name down.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FS52P3WGP37JJ6YJNRLPPBVS4E A

I’m willing to give BAP a chance; from their little variety show clip, they seemed like a cute bunch, albeit hard to differentiate because of the hair. The members seemed interesting, and I find myself eyeing a couple of them because of their personalities.

That only thing irking me is the BYG super-fans.

I mean, seriously. So many of you are upset at the OP for casting judgement based on a few, topical reasons (name, look, etc) and wonder how OP can judge.
By the same token, then, how can you judge the entire group based on one person?

http://twitter.com/Juliana_Js Juliana

Well, we all have different opinions on what is best absolute and perfect.. in my opinion they really are.. and not because im some sort of a fan.. i believe that they have delivered something new and different to k-pop and that their performances are very outstanding n different. about the outfit, i do see some connection but then again its not the same.. its very different.. btw.. they r rookies.. give them a chance.. i mean in a year or two.. they will be best.absolute. perfect.. look at MBLAQ “Music Boys Live in Absolute Quality”..

Jackie Wu

stop complaining about their hair, if you watch their interview you would understand. go and watch ta dah is bap now lol, it explains EVERYTHING. so stop hating before throwing in complains

http://www.facebook.com/people/Tan-Tee-May/1311712116 Tan Tee May

their debut is awesome, cant argue with that..

http://siriipham.tumblr.com/ Love1403

I hope they proved you wrong now :) They had an awesome debut!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000328195514 Cutee Mc Deck

Woah ho ho we got some hater-ade sippers up in here! are u srsly saying Big Bang..had “swag” first…Lmao..maybe we should go to american singers then..im pretty sure american singers brought ABOUT swag..so stop inhaling,sniffing,shooting that hate drug

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000328195514 Cutee Mc Deck

Oh and yes there are persons who ARE best.absolute.perfect: Himchan,Bang Yong Guk,Zelo,Daehyun,Jongup and Youngjae need i say more?